


Of Blessings and Burdens

by Jenniwrites



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Childbirth, Midwifery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-07 03:13:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3159119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenniwrites/pseuds/Jenniwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Astrid gives birth to her first child and she and Hiccup are faced with difficult decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Toil

**Of Burdens and Blessings**

**Part 1: Toil**

They had been at each other all day.

 “That is not how you peel a potato, Astrid,” Valka corrected her very pregnant, very impatient daughter law.

“I don’t see how I am peeling a potato incorrectly. The potato is being peeled, is it not?”

“Peel away from you. You’re going to stab yourself.”

“I am not going to stab myself. If I can wield an axe, I am sure I can wield a common kitchen blade.”

“Apparently not.”

“Fine, you peel the potatoes by yourself,” Astrid pushed the cutting board away from her.

“Don’t be childish. One babe around here will be enough.”

 The two women held each other’s gaze for a short time before Astrid scowled, “Hiccup missed lunch. I am going to go take him some stew.

Getting out of her chair took effort and careful manoeuvring. Astrid planted her feet and pushed back, giving her room to wield her ballooning belly from under the table. Arching, with her hands underneath her, Astrid propelled herself forward with a groan. A pain ripped through her as the baby changed position as she changed hers. She grimaced. A small whimper escaped her mouth.

 

“Are you all right?” Valka asked alarmed.

“Fine, there is just no room left inside my body so every time the baby moves, I feel like I am being beat up from the inside,” Astrid groaned.

“That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?”

“I am NOT being melodramatic. I could give birth any day now. I am gigantic and everything hurts. I am tired but I can’t sleep, I am hungry but I can’t eat, I feel like every part of my body is leaking something or aching so excuse me if I am acting like I am a little uncomfortable!” Astrid fought back tears, frustrated with herself as much as Valka. Tears came so easily these days and though she wouldn’t admit it, she was being melodramatic.

In an attempt to calm down from her huff, Astrid made a conscious effort to breathe slowly and began scooping soup into a large fired mug.

“Why aren’t you using a bowl?’ Valka asked.

“Ugh! If you must know, Hiccup likes it in a mug. He drinks the broth while he works. Why must you question everything I do?” Astrid snapped in frustration and waddled out before Valka could answer.

Gobber returned from the store house with a bag of beets and some salted cod for that night’s dinner just in time to see the tail end of the dispute.

“For the love of Thor,” he muttered under his breath. Gobber knew Astrid was not adapting well to domestic life. Up until the last few weeks of her pregnancy, Astrid had spent most of her life, since she was 15, at Hiccup’s side. She knew more about dragons, and running Berk and even the forge than she did running a household. Gobber knew staying home waiting for the baby, trying to be a good wife and daughter in law was working away at Astrid’s patience. What he didn’t get was Valka.  _Why was Valka being so short with the girl?_

“Valka!” Gobber spoke sternly.

Valka jumped, “Gobber, I know what you are gonna say,”

“Well, you’re gonna hear it any way. Why are you being so hard on Astrid? You know the girl does her best. She is adapting to a new way of life, and it obvious that she is uncomfortable. Why poke the bear?”

“Am I poking the bear?” Valka took a moment to reflect, “I don’t know. I love her, I do, she is family now and a good fit for Hiccup, but we only interacted in small doses before. I am just not used to her being here all the time. I feel like she’s always underfoot these last few weeks and with her here I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“She is trying to make herself useful, Valka, and find her new place. Up until now, she has been too busy to notice or care that you are kind of doing her job of running this household and while I am sure she appreciates it and will more once the little one is here, I think she feels lost at the moment. Plus, being that pregnant looks almost painful if I do say so myself. Be patient with her. You must remember what it was like, being that close to giving birth. 

“Actually, I don’t Gobber. If you remember, I never got to be that pregnant with any of my babies.” Valka’s gaze dropped to her own flat stomach.

“Ah yes, perhaps dat’s the rub then?” Gobber placed his good arm around his friend.

“I don’t know, Gobber. Maybe I am jealous? Or ashamed, perhaps? I never seemed to get much past the half way mark with my pregnancies. I didn’t think I’d ever produce Stoick an heir. I felt like I was a disappointment for a wife.”

“Stoick did not think so. Plus, you gave him Hiccup.”

“I did do that but what kind of mother was I?  It was a blessing I carried Hiccup for almost 8 moons and even then, when he was born alive, I could hardly believe it. I felt it was my fault he was so small. I lived every moment in fear Frigga would take him from me and the thought of loss was so unbearable, when Cloud Jumper took me, I chose to stay away rather than return to Berk to face the possibility that something happened to him.” Valka frowned, “But I realize now, I was foolish, I missed so much by staying away. That is time lost, I can never get back.”

“You can’t dwell on the past, Valka. It just means you have twenty extra years of love stored for this new wee one on the way.”

* * *

The next morning Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber and Valka sat down to have breakfast together in the main hall. Valka had made a fresh loaf of bread the evening prior and was breaking it apart for her loved ones to dip in last night’s stew.   

Astrid was not feeling well at all. Her stomach was all out of sorts. Plus, she was tired as she had spent most of the night waking to a weird cramping in her stomach and back and an almost constant urge to relieve herself.

While Hiccup and Gobber discussed news of the village and their plans for the day, Valka noticed Astrid hardly touched her breakfast. She watched as every few minutes Astrid closed her eyes and scrunched up her face.

“Excuse me, I’m feeling a little off today. If no one minds, I think I am going to make myself some ginger tea and go back to bed.” Astrid excused herself.

Astrid went to fetch the kettle, filled it was water from the indoor spring feed, and made her way to the fire.

“Ugh!” Astrid buckled and groaned dropping the kettle with a splash on the floor.

Hiccup and Valka both ran to her side. Valka placed her hand on Astrid’s stomach. She could feel Astrid’s stomach relax as the contraction passed.

“How long have you been having contractions, Astrid?” Valka asked.

“Contractions?” Astrid looked at her mother-in-law with denial, fear and then acceptance, “Uhh, I don’t know? I had some cramping off and on all night but it has gotten worse this morning.”

Because knots and braids were believed to prolong labour, Valka began pulling the bindings from her braid. As she ran her fingers through her long dark hair she said, “Gobber, go fetch Astrid’s mother and Gothi. No need to hurry, mind you, but I am expecting Astrid will have this baby by nightfall. Because we do not want to delay this child’s entrance to the world, I will make sure all the doors connected to your dwelling are unlocked and any knots are untied.  Astrid, remove the braids from your and Hiccup’s hair and untie any knots you can think of in your room. When that is done, go back to bed and try to get as much rest as you can. Once rest is impossible, I want you to get up and walk, not far, just around the halls. Hiccup, your job is to make Astrid as comfortable as possible.” Valka took control. Everyone let her.

“How will I know when it is time for the baby to be born? I don’t want to have this baby in the hall.” Astrid asked, concerned that it took her to now to realize the baby was coming.

“Trust me, you won’t just drop this baby on the ground. Birthing your first is going to take more work than you realize, there is a reason it’s called labour. Trust yourself too. You will know what to do.”

Astrid tensed and groaned again. Hiccup looked horrified.

Valka placed her hand on Astrid’s hardening stomach and beckoned her son over.

“Come here and make yourself useful. Put your hands here on her hips and use your thumbs to message her lower back like this,” Valka demonstrated, “The counter pressure will provide a little relief. Alternately, you can twist your fist into the small of her back, like this.”

Hiccup did as his mother instructed.

 “Ugh, what’s happening?” Astrid looked down as a warm liquid ran down her legs, into her boots and puddled on the floor beneath her.

“That would be your waters. It just means we are probably going to meet this baby sooner rather than later.” Valka brushed Astrid’s hair out her eyes and gave her a squeeze on the arm, “Get cleaned up and get some rest.”

***

Rest did not come. By the time Hiccup and Astrid made it back to their room Astrid had another contraction. Not long after, another.

“I think I’d rather just walk. I need to walk,” Astrid declared and walk they did for most of the morning, while Valka, Gothi and Bertha, Astrid’s mother, prepared the room for the birth.

While singing songs of birth and prayers to Frigga and Freya, Valka and Bertha stripped the bed of its fixings and replaced the sheets and wool bed with a layer of hay and Freya’s weed. Gothi prepared herbs and salves and a fire was made. When that was done, Bertha went to fetch her daughter.

During the seventh moon of her pregnancy, Astrid had prepared an amulet pouch which she kept tucked in her breast bindings close to her heart for the past three moons. With shaking hands, she unfolded the soft leather to reveal three woven linen threads of black, red and white, and a small amber bead.

Gothi silently took the black thread, representing death and bad luck from her and lit it a blaze in a small bowl. When it was reduced to ash, she gave it to Gobber to bury outside the lodgings. Gothi than gave Astrid a small piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil.

“Do you remember the birth prayer, I taught you?” Bertha asked, “Write it and read it allowed.”

On the parchment, Astrid wrote and recited:

Dearest Frigga, I humbly request your blessing on this birth. May you open my mind and limbs and see to my child’s safe entrance into this world.”

Gothi took the parchment and burned it in another bowl. She mixed it was a splash of lavender water and made a paintable paste.

The ladies then continued to sing and tell stories of birth and babies while Hiccup did his best to see to Astrid’s emotional and physical comfort.

By afternoon, Astrid’s pains were coming quickly.

Bertha helped her daughter undress and gave her a quick wash with a warm wet cloth soaked in lavender water. The doting and the way it cooled Astrid’s skin felt nice, though it did nothing to stop the squeezing pressure and pain that ripped through her body.

When she was washed, Gothi she drew a pointed B, the rune Berkano, for birth on Astrid’s stomach and the hands of everyone in the room.

Bertha climbed on to the bed and sat against the head board. Astrid lay back against her mother. With each contraction, Bertha and Astrid groaned together a low, guttural, primal hum. The sound was hypnotic and gave Astrid something to focus on rather than the pain.

Valka pulled Hiccup aside.

“I think Astrid will soon be ready to deliver. She is going to be in a lot of pain. Things are going to get messy and she might get… mean.”

“Mean? I have seen Astrid mean, It’ll be ok, Mom.”

“No, I mean mean mean. She might say things she doesn’t mean, she might swear, she might yell and she might direct her anger at you. Just be prepared.” Valka patted her son on the shoulder and returned to her daughter in-law.

As if on cue, Astrid, who had been mostly quiet during the duration of her labour, shouted her first expletive, “Oh my F-ing Thor! Ahhhh-ugh. I can’t. I can’t do this anymore. I need to push. I need this baby out of me now!”

Bertha got off the bed and pulled Astrid to her feet. She ran her hand down over her daughter’s stomach and attempted to see how things were progressing down below.

“Don’t touch me,” Astrid growled and reached for the bed post to support herself.

“Astrid, are you pushing?” Bertha watched her daughter scrunch up her face and groan.

“No! Maybe. Yes. Ugh!”

“Then let me see if you should be yet.”

Bertha examined her daughter then looked up at Valka, “She’s ready.”

Valka helped pry Astrid from the bed post and got her on all fours on the bed. Hiccup kneeled in front of her. Valka and Gothi flanked her and rubbed her back.

Bertha positioned herself to catch her grandchild, “All right Baby Girl, we’re soon going to meet this baby. Don’t be scared; just listen to your body. Trust your instincts.”

With each contraction, Astrid pushed with all her might. She pushed for what felt like forever. She didn’t know how she was bearing the pain. The pressure, the burning and writhing were too much. She didn’t know how she was feeling all of it without dying or passing out.

“Hiccup, you are never touching me again,” Astrid grabbed a handful of Hiccup’s tunic sleeve

Hiccup buried an, “Ouch” as her nails found his skin. He wished he would have worn his armour.

Valka nodded at her son, “I told you so,” written on her face.

“Son of a fish bucket…”Astrid continued a string of expletives.

“Astrid!” Bertha scolded, “Stop swearing. Don’t talk at all. Save your breath for pushing.”

Astrid silenced herself and bore down again.

Hiccup could not help but notice the look of concern on the face of his mother in law.

“Astrid, you’re not really doing anything,” Bertha confessed, “I am worried the baby is facing up. It’s going to hurt but, Gothi, do you think you can try to turn it?”

“What?” Astrid couldn’t imagine anything more painful than what she was already experiencing.

“Here, bite this.” Valka placed a stick between Astrid’s teeth.

Gothi slowly and cautiously tried to encourage the baby to turn.

Astrid felt like she was being tortured. She spit the bite from her mouth and started to cry, “Stop! I can’t. I can’t do this. It hurts. It’s too much. Just leave me to die. Hiccup, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Hiccup placed his forehead to hers and she leaned into it, “I love you. You have nothing to be sorry for. I know you can do this. You are the strongest woman I know. You’re a warrior. I know you can do this.”

Valka added, “He’s right. You are a warrior and you can do this. You are not the first woman to feel this way. It simply means this is almost over.”

“The babe is stubborn and won’t turn. Get into a squat and see if that will shift things a little,” Bertha instructed.

Valka and Hiccup moved to either side of Astrid to support her.

“We don’t want to have to cut this baby out so I need you to push, push, push, Sweetheart.” Bertha couched.

“You can do it, Babe,” Hiccup found himself surprisingly calm and Astrid was comforted.

She closed her eyes and with the next contraction pushed hard.

Three contractions later the child made its entrance into the world. Astrid felt her whole body relax and still as the baby slipped from her and into its grandmother’s arms.

“Grab her, Astrid.” Bertha encouraged.

Astrid did as she was instructed and pulled the newborn to her chest. Hiccup carefully lowered an exhausted Astrid, his daughter in her arms, to a seat between his legs on the bed. Bertha cleaned the baby’s airway and began rubbing her with another blanket until she grew a healthy pink and began crying in protest.

The hard part was over. Astrid paid no mind as her mother and body took care of the rest of the birthing process and Gothi tied off the child’s cord with the white threads from the amulet.  Astrid just stared at her daughter. She was a dainty cherub of a thing with a fine layer of dark auburn hair on her head. Her newborn blue-gray eyes scanned to memorize the contours of her mother’s face. Astrid thought she might be the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

Hiccup cupped his daughter’s head in his hand.

“Hi, Baby Girl, I’m your Daddy,” Hiccup cooed.

The infant’s gaze shifted to him. Hiccup grazed his fingers down the infants arm with wonder. Her arm moved beneath his touch and with tiny fingers she grabbed his finger. He was overwhelmed by pride and a tear slipped down his cheek.

“She’s strong and beautiful just like her mother,” Hiccup kissed Astrid on the temple. Feeling content, Astrid closed her eyes and rested for a moment.

Hiccup looked around at the women in the room. He reflected on how they all worked together so seamlessly for the birth of this child and thought to himself, “ _If woman were the leaders of the world, would there be peace because they know the true pain and toil it takes to bring a child into the world and be less willing to sacrifice the lives of their men in war?”_ Returning his gaze to his daughter, he thought,  _“Perhaps one day, you will lead Berk.”_


	2. Part 2: Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gothi inspects the babe for viability. 
> 
> On a side note: My daughter was born with a condition called Radial Nerve Palsy. The nerves were crushed in her right arm and she held it like a little wing. Physical therapy fixed it but we weren't sure it would at the time of her birth. When I was thinking of names for Hiccup and Astrid's baby, this part of the story came to me.

**Part 2: Revelations**

 

Gothi gave the new family a moment before motioning for Astrid to hand the child to her for inspection. If the infant passed, Astrid could nurse her and Hiccup would name her and she would be accepted into the clan. Babies who failed were left to die of exposure on Death Cliff and were never spoken of again. It was not considered murder to do so. Food and resources were often scarce and it was considered best for a clan to minimize its burdens.

Astrid handed her daughter over reluctantly. Now that the baby was in her arms, she never wanted to let her go.

Flanked by the grandmothers, Gothi laid the child naked on a wool blanket and noted the baby was a bright and beautiful girl. With oiled hands, she ran her finger over the child’s head, shoulders and down the babe’s arms. She noticed the newborn kept her left arm curled in towards herself. She pulled the baby up by its hands to ensure it had the proper strength and reflexes to deem it fit and healthy. When she laid the girl back down, her arm returned to its odd position.

Gothi frowned and stretched out the child’s left arm again and watched as it sprung back when she let go. She gave the girl her fingers. Her right hand grasped with impressive strength. Her left hand weakly curled her fingers around hers. She inspected the arm for any broken bones and found none.

Gothi looked up at the grandmothers and shook her head gravely.

“No,” Bertha shook her head. Valka hung hers.  

When the grandmothers turned to look at Astrid, Hiccup read the alarm in their eyes.

“What is it?” Hiccup got up off bed and Astrid sat up to get a better look at their daughter. They never noticed anything was wrong when she was in their arms.

“Her arm,” Valka frowned.  

Hiccup and Astrid watched as the infant kicked her legs and waved her right arm in protest of the absence of her mother’s warmth but held her left arm tight against her chest. Her cry was loud and clear and other than her arm, she was the picture of health.

“Is it broken?” Hiccup asked.

Gothi shook her head no.

Hiccup stared at the small woman who served as Berk’s healer and seeress. His mind and heart were heavy. He knew what was supposed to happen to newborns with obvious deformities but he was not sure he could leave his daughter out in the cold to die. He already loved her with all his being. But as chief, if he let her live, he might be setting a potentially dangerous precedent. Particularly if the decision was was against the will of the volva.

The baby’s cries grew louder.

“Hand me my child,” Astrid ordered to the room.

Everyone stepped back from the squalling infant and looked at Astrid with sympathy.

“Hand me my child!” Astrid repeated, this time her order cut with panic, “Hand her to me!”

No one moved.

“Hiccup, hand her to me! Please!”

Hiccup looked at the woman who moments ago had blown him away with her strength and resiliency and worried now, that this might break her. With a furrowed brow, he bent over to pick up his daughter. Gothi blocked his path to Astrid with her staff. Astrid let out an audible sob.

“Hiccup, you know you can’t give her to her,” Bertha spoke for Gothi.

“I can and I will,” Hiccup replied.

“But…”

“But what?” Hiccup raised his voice above the crying baby in his arms, “Astrid will nurse her and accept her though she maybe a burden to Berk. Why? Because of her arm? Am I a burden to Berk?” Hiccup held out his peg leg and stomped it hard on the floor with a grimace as the physical pain shot through the emotional pain written on his face, “Is Gobber a burden? Is Bucket?”

“None of you were born that way,” Valka sadly countered.

“True, but the way I understand it, I wasn’t exactly the picture of health when I was born, now was I?”

The baby quieted and stared at her father. 

Valka closed her eyes and reflected on the memory of Hiccup’s birth.

The man that stood in front of her now had come a long way from the small, fragile baby she birthed a moon too early, 23years prior. No one but Stoick thought Hiccup would make it through his first night but Stoick was right. Hiccup was a survivor.

“It’s true. You were early and frail. It was recommended we send you to the cliff but your father resisted. However, the council pushed for it. Your father took you to the cliff that night but only I knew he did not come back to the dwelling till morning,” Valka touched her face as she remembered the look on Stoick’s face and the ice that had formed in his beard when he returned, “He was covered in snow but his eyes beamed with pride as he revealed you squirming a way, tucked in his arm, under his cloak. He told the council, if you could survive the night in the cold without your mother, you would grow to be a strong man and you have, I don’t know how the two of you survived the winter’s night on that cliff, but I am sure he was there to protect you.”

Hiccup’s focus fell on the daughter in his arms then back to his mother and Gothi, “Let me convince the council to let her live. If they insist I send her to the cliff, I will propose the same deal: One night on the cliff. If she survives, I name her in the morning.

“But Hiccup, you were just small. Your father used the night to prove you were strong despite your size. Her arm will still be what it is in the morning. What if the council or the people of Berk judge you for not leaving her on the cliff as is custom?” Valka questioned. 

“Then let them judge me. It won’t be the first time I’ve come under the scrutiny of the people of Berk, and I am sure it won’t be the last. I am not worried. Berk has a way of coming around to my way of thinking.” 

“For your and the child’s sake, I hope you can convince them letting her live is the right choice,” Valka added.

Hiccup looked down at Gothi, “Gothi, please. I know in my heart, death on the cliff is not this child’s destiny. Berk won’t send her there.”

Gothi nodded and lifted her staff from Hiccup’s hip, clearing his way to Astrid. Hiccup took the child to its mother and planted kisses on both their heads.

Astrid wept in relief as Hiccup placed the child in her arms. She set her cheek on the infants head and took in her new baby smell. It made her heart and breasts ache. Astrid shifted the infant to allow it to nurse.

“Astrid,” Bertha spoke, “Are you sure that’s best?”

Astrid looked at her mother with defiant determination, “I am accepting my daughter the way she is and I don’t care what Berk or anyone thinks. I see no shame in my love.”

Gothi gestured to allow it.

Astrid offered the babe her breast and the little one latched eagerly. No one spoke as their minds raced through the quiet moment.

 

Bertha’s heart broke for her daughter. She had laboured so hard to bring the little one alive into the world and could only imagine Astrid’s despair at the thought of casting out the babe but she worried that bonding with the infant was a mistake. If the child was to be a burden and bring her daughter and the chief shame, perhaps it would be best that the baby be left to return to Freya.

 

Valka worried that Berk would not be as easily changed as Hiccup was convinced. For generations, families were taught the cliff was best for defective babes. Would the families of babes’ passed harbour resentment for the chief’s daughter? Would people see Hiccup’s insistence that his child live as a weakness? Would they think he was too soft to lead? And even though she knew it was irrational, she worried the babe’s deformity was somehow her fault. Maybe her jealously brought bad luck on the babe? She would not want to be in Astrid’s shoes now for all the stars in the sky.

 

Gothi too worried about the people’s perception. As volva, her power was depended on upholding the rituals and traditions of her people and letting a child with an obvious deformity pass inspection was not often done.  If the child belonged to anyone else, Gothi would insist the child be left for exposure but she knew Hiccup was not going to let the baby die. Never in her 65 years had she met someone as insistent on challenging the old ways. It was his gift and his folly. She also knew Hiccup would see to it, disabled or not, this child would never be a burden to Berk. But not all children were so lucky and for generations people had given up their babes. What would it look like if this one was given special treatment? Gothi needed a loop hole that would prove this child was special, just Stoick arranged for Hiccup many suns ago. 


	3. Part 3: Seething Visions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gothi goes on seior to see what the Gods have in store for the child. 
> 
> I combined a bunch of different rituals here and made them Berk applicable. My ritual is a little Norse, a little Celtic, and a little made up.

Later that evening, while the others prepared to meet with council to discuss the future of the child, Gothi and Astrid took the afterbirth outside to bury under an old pine tree. A light dusting of snow had fallen over the bright autumn evening but the ground was still warm and malleable. Gothi imagined the snow would be gone by morning but it would not be long before winter dug its claws in and settled over Berk. 

When Gothi kneeled down to dig, she saw poking out from a crevice made by the roots of the tree, a pair of toadstools dressed in red and white caps. 

Gothi grabbed Astrid’s arm and bid her to look. Astrid’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the fly agaric mushrooms and the sound of Gothi’s raspy rarely used voice.

“It’s a sign.”

 

* * * 

 

Babe in arms, Hiccup paced the underground atrium that connected his dwelling to the Great Hall while Gerber and Spitelout gathered enough citizens to form a last minute council. 

Hiccup held the baby girl out in front of him so he could see her face. 

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I promise,” he vowed before handing the girl over to Valka. 

“Hiccup, they are ready for you,” Gobber interrupted.

Hiccup followed Gobber and watched her took a seat around the longest table in the Great Hall, joining Spitelout, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut , Mulch and 5 other male members of Berk. 

All eyes were on Hiccup.

“I have assembled you here last minute to inform you that Astrid successfully birthed a daughter earlier this evening and for all accounts, but one, the child is the picture of health and I could not more pleased. However, there is one issue, I hope can be overlooked.”

“I doubt it, or you would not be calling this meeting,” Spitelout sneered. 

Gobber gave the man a warning jab with his elbow. 

“What is wrong with the wee lass, Hiccup?” Mulch asked.

“I’ll let you see for yourself.”

Hiccup waved for Valka to bring the child to him from where she was standing near the atrium. Hiccup took the baby from his mother and laid the loosely wrapped infant on the table in front of him. 

“Oh, she’s beautiful, Hiccup,” Fishlegs fawned. 

“She is isn’t she,” Hiccup smiled as he loosened the blanket to reveal the child’s arms. The right waved franticly now that it was free from its confines. The left remained still folded into her chest. 

“Why, she holds her arm like a wee bird,” Gobber commented. 

“That’s the issue,” Hiccup confirmed.

“If you know that, why bring her here and show her to us? Why didn’t you just send her to the cliff?” Spitelout asked. 

“Because I don’t plan on sending her there and I need you to understand why. I am convinced the practice is no longer necessary. Berk is doing well with food and resources. And even when we have not, have we ever been so hard up that we need to snuff out a precious life before it has a fighting chance? So hard up, it’s better to break a mother’s heart then risk letting a child grow-up to be less than ideal? How many of us grow-up to be ideal, anyway? Plus, how do we know if a supposed deformity at birth is going to be a problem long term or not. Maybe, with time, my daughter’s arm will heal or be fixed? If not, a prosthetic provided for her, like those of us who lost our limbs in battle? Maybe she will never be able to swing a hammer or a mace but that doesn’t mean she will not possess a myriad of different and valuable skills. I think we Berkians have been too quick in the past to avoid burdens; we could be missing out on great blessings. I know in my heart, my daughter is destined for great things…” 

Hiccup’s speech was interrupted by the groan of the front doors. 

Gothi entered, followed by Astrid and Bertha. 

Bertha spoke, “I apologize, my Chief, for interrupting your meeting, but Gothi claims the Gods have requested a seior. They plan to reveal the fate of the girl to her.” 

 

* * *

 

Gothi led Valka, Bertha, Ruffnut, Astrid and the child through the under-tunnels to a large room under her dwelling that none of the others had known existed. As Gothi lit the sconces on the walls, the light revealed a hot spring pool, a high throne and a hearth. The walls were brightly painted and decorated with horned drums, pan flutes and a long lur. The room vibrated as though it knew it was intended for mystical purposes. 

Gothi beckoned for Valka to light a fire and set a cauldron to boil before disappearing through an adjoining hallway. 

When she returned, Gothi brought with her a young yak and a young dark haired woman named Olga, whom she was preparing to be her apprentice. 

Gothi motioned for the girl to check on the cauldron. Olga dipped in it a long handled spoon and brought a thick cloudy substance to her mouth. 

“The salt will soon be ready, Gothi,” Olga said to her teacher. 

Gothi nodded as she attached a contraption for capturing urine to the yak. She had fed one of the mushrooms to the heifer and was waiting for nature to take its course. 

“You might as well make yourselves comfortable,” Olga pointed at mats in the corner. “We will all need to be cleansed,” she gestured at the bath pool. Astrid, you can go first and then you and the babe should try to get some rest while you can. It is going to be a long night. Due to your condition, you won’t participate in the journey as the potion is too potent for your milk and the babe, but your and the babe’s presence is valuable to the journey.”

The women took turns cleansing themselves in the pool. Olga handed them oil infused with basil to rub on their skins to protect them from dark magic. 

Meanwhile, Gothi lit a smudging of lavender, sage and pine and purified the room. When the water was evaporated from the cauldron she cooled the remaining salt by waving it with a large sheet of rune covered parchment. When it was cool to the touch, she divided it and tossed it in all four corners of the room and across the base of each exit. 

In a bowl near the hearth, Gothi made a paint paste of yucca, yarrow, and dragon’s blood resin and brought it to Astrid and the babe. On their foreheads she drew a three pronged Y, the rune Yr for protection, to ward off of psychic attack, since they would be part of the ceremony but unable to join in the communion. She did not want them to be attacked by wayward magic. The other women, she marked with the rune, Laguz, for formlessness, potentiality and vision so they could be witnesses to her journey. 

When nature called the yak, Gothi brought the collected urine to the hearth and poured it into the cauldron. She took the babe from Astrid and held the girl in arms, above the cauldron. Chanting, Gothi pricked the child’s heel and let the blood drip into the cauldron. Gothi staunched the bleeding with a paste and returned the child to Astrid motioned for her to nurse, which settled the babe quickly.

Once the urine had boiled and cooled, Gothi scooped the mixture into a small wooden bowl and drank it. In 4 much smaller bowels she poured servings for Olga, Valka, Bertha and Ruffnut. She needed the ladies to be altered enough to feel the presence of the gods but not so altered that they get lost in a vision of their own without proper training and guidance. 

Ruffnut curled her nose, “This drink tastes like yak piss. Get it. Because it is,” she snickered. 

The company rolled their eyes. 

On to the fire, Gothi threw henbane seeds which filled the room with a hazey smoke. She began drumming her staff on the floor of the chamber and began chanting. She motioned for the others to grab a drum and join in. When they were over taken by the rhythm, Gothi snuck off in a cloud of smoke. 

When she returned she had donned a large bear skin cape, the head still attached. It made her a head taller and gave her an eerie presence. She took the infant in arms and began to speak an old and ancient tongue. 

Olga translated:

If it be Odin’s will,  
I call on Freya to bless this place  
And Frigga to reveal the fate  
Of this dear child here before me  
Be with me on my seer’s journey

The chanting, drumming and dancing continued.

It was not long until the effects of the fly agaric began to hit. 

It was subtle at first, but the simple sensation that the room was breathing and a feeling of oneness gave way to weightlessness and the haze began to tell a story. 

In the flames of the fire, Gothi could see into the past, to a time when Vikings were at arms with dragons and most of Berk burned. Gothi closed her eyes. With the sound of a swooping night fury, the momentary darkness was broken and sunlight revealed a boy’s helmet being cast off in the kill ring. She could feel her fingers tremble as she marked the young man with the mark of chief. 

The image melted and reformed to reveal Hiccup’s silhouette with a bow and a quiver of four arrows. The chief released his first arrow to the East. Gothi’s mind followed its flight. Seamlessly, the arrow morphed into a magpie, soaring over the archipelago. 

From the perspective of the magpie, Gothi looked down on Berk. All appeared peaceful and prosperous. Suddenly, the magpie was joined by another and they left Berk to discover the surrounded lands burning. From the ashes, rose three eagles with red crosses painted across their chest. With a clatter of beating wings and gnawing beaks and claws, the eagles attempted to tear the magpies apart. The second magpie remained to fight while the original returned to Berk where it landed in front of two figures, a black dragon and a bear holding the volva’s staff. As a crowd gathered, the magpie morphed into a woman and the bear marked her with the chief symbol and handed the girl her volvo staff. The three eagles approached the scene and began to assault the crowd. The woman let out a magpie’s call, held out the staff and the three eagles perched upon it. 

Gothi moved from the hearth and took a seat on the seer’s throne. She watched Astrid in the corner kissing the hands of her sleeping babe and the other women dancing and drumming around the hearth and contemplated the vision.


	4. Part 4: Prophesy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gothi interprets her vision for Hiccup.

When the high and the fire died down, the women dressed and Olga sent for the council. The men crowded around the old volva who remained perched on her seat above them. She tapped her staff three times on the ground to command their attention. 

The men startled when Olga threw more henbane seeds onto the fire and took a seat at Gothi’s feet. 

Gothi spoke in the old tongue. Olga translated:

“In the vision revealed to me I have seen the past and the future,” and added, “You may ask a question of the seer if you promise not alter the path of the future revealed to you. Doing so could have dire consequences for all mankind,” Olga spoke to the Hiccup first, “My chief, do you agree not actively alter the fate revealed?”

“I agree.”

“Does the present company of witnesses agree?”

“We agree.”

“You may ask your first question.”

“Is it Odin’s wish to see the child live despite her arm?” Hiccup asked.

Olga translated as Gothi spoke. 

“The child is to live. Her arm will be of no matter.”

“What else of her fate was revealed to you?” Hiccup asked.

“As you know there are Kings to the East who wish to claim the archipelago as theirs in the name of a new God. They are Eagles of men. There will bring with them many promises and Berk’s loyalties will divide. Neighbors will burn. There will be strife. But a magpie of a girl will stand before them all with staff and sceptre to bring a new form of peace.”

Audible gasps were made by nearly everyone in the room. 

“Staff and sceptre? The child will be volva and jarl? This vision sounds like Loki’s work, if you ask me.” Snotlout goffed. 

“Time will tell,” Hiccup nodded at Gothi, “Since Odin says she shall live, I wish to name the child.”

Gothi nodded back. 

Astrid laid the baby at his feet. Olga found a basin and filled it was fresh water. 

Hiccup picked up the baby and splashed a handful of water over her head.

“I accept this child as my daughter and bestow upon her all the rites and love of that position and may she be a blessing in my home and to Berk. I shall name her, Falda The Fearless Haddock. May you sore to great heights, my darling bird with folded wings.”

Gothi took the red string and amber bead from Astrid’s amulet pouch and tied it to the child’s wrist to offer her the gods protection.

Hiccup looked at his daughter and smiled, “Welcome to world, Falda.”


End file.
